THE STORY BEHIND THE COCKTAIL NAME

This cocktail aims to encapsulate a spring I spent in japan in 2017. Hanami in Japan is the traditional custom of viewing flowers, specifically cherry blossom flowers or "sakura". This occurs in the spring time and the beautiful practice is many centuries old. But what’s lesser known in the Japanese culture around the same time is the "meiji period" which celebrates the bringing of peaches from China to Okayama. With hard work and dedication Okayama became Japans largest peach producers. They tell the tale of "Momotarou" or "peach boy" who was born from a giant peach, which was found floating down a river by an old, childless woman who was washing clothes there. The woman and her husband discovered the child when they tried to open the peach to eat it. The child explained that he had been bestowed by the Gods to be their son. The couple named him Momotar, from momo (peach) and tar? (eldest son in the family). And finally, soft serve. For anyone who's gone to Japan you've surely seen the strange and sometimes repulsive flavours they mix into this as what you assume is a gimmick but turns out to be an exceptional cultural experience. My cocktail attempts to combine these flavours in a way that compliments the Haku Vodka of Suntory, and toast to the spring fling I had with Japan in 2017, when all of these flavours found their way to me for the first time, and I revelled in the overwhelming experience of Japan, in spring.